Following a completely sold-out run across North America and Europe and fresh off the release of her highly anticipated new album Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, Ethel Cain has just added a bunch of new Australian dates to her biggest tour so far. After years of building a project that spans music, visuals and narratives, The Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour is the next chapter in the ever-expanding Cain world.
Her latest record, a conceptual prequel to 2022’s huge release Preacher’s Daughter, dives into the story of a doomed first love swathed in heat and southern gothic mythology. Written across the arc of her entire career and produced in various studios scattered across the US, it is an explosion of romance and ruin. It’s already earned acclaim across the board with Pitchfork calling it “an album of unflinching emotional and narrative clarity.”
Beyond the music, Cain’s occupies a mythological space of her own, within a fiercely devoted fanbase. An entire online community has formed around decoding the lore and world she’s built into each track release. It feels something like an Alec Soth photograph; biblical Americana, with cursed love set in gas stations and motels. And her shows, whether staged in cathedrals or clubs, feel like they belong to that same universe. Fans show up in Cain’s signature looks, share art and compare theories. That obsession has spilled into a more chaotic corner of the internet recently, thanks to a few sharp lines in a leaked Lana Del Rey track that seemed to take aim at Cain. What’s followed is a tangle of blockings, body-shaming accusations, and duelling TikToks with two very online fanbases in open conflict. Time will tell where it goes from here!
Not sure where to start with Ethel Cain? Here are three tracks to kick off your listening!
– “A House in Nebraska”
– “American Teenager”
– “Sun Bleached Flies”
General tickets go on sale Monday 18 August, 11am local time. All ticket info can be found HERE.
ETHEL CAIN TOUR
Monday 16 February– Palais Theatre, Melbourne, VIC
Tuesday 17 February – Palais Theatre, Melbourne, VIC
Wednesday 18 February – Palais Theatre, Melbourne – NEW SHOW
Saturday 21 February – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, NSW
Sunday 22 February – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, NSW – NEW SHOW
Wednesday 25 February – The Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, QLD
Thursday 26 February – The Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, QLD – NEW SHOW
Saturday 28 February – Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, WA
Image Credit: Dollie Kyarn
